Humidity and colour

[ellroy]

Hi,

My Idolo's have all been brown, I spray them once a day but have heard higher humidity can produce the green specimens I've seen. Has anyone experienced colour variation due to humidity?

Thanks

Alan

 

[KennethJ78]

Yes, but with Phyllocrania pardoxa instead of Idolomantis.

Phyllocrania showes greener morphs when the humidity level is very high. Drop that level and the Phyllo's will get a browner even blackish colour...

 

[nympho]

My Idolo's have all been brown, I spray them once a day but have heard higher humidity can produce the green specimens I've seen. Has anyone experienced colour variation due to humidity?

I thought they went green when becoming adult. All the nymphs ive seen have been brown and adults green.

 

[ellroy]

Yes, apparently it is only the adult Idolo's which turn green (I've since found out).

It makes sense that animals respond to environmental conditions although differences and seem to be particularly apparent in cryptic mantids which would obviously benefit from matching the foliage as it changes colour.

Whats about flower mantids changing colour to match flowers? Anyone had experience of this?

Alan

 

[Jackson]

I had a severe colour change with my first mantis. A miomantis paykulli that was bright green all the way through to sub adult, then i moved it from its geo that had sphagnum moss substrate that was misted every other day to a glass tank with sand substrate and kitted out with air plants that was misted once a week. Within 2-4 weeks he changed from a bright green to a dull sandy colour. But i see alot of miomantis that are sandy colour.

Also i had 2 H.parviceps, the male was a bright green whereas the female is a dark brown colour. Not sure if that was to do with humidity or genetics.

 

[julian camilo]

this is a scan taken by my friend chun siew of a male and female phyllocrania paradoxa (both deceased, old age), just to give an example of the range of colouring in this species. i seem to remember the female being kept more humid than the male which may explain this colour difference i guess. it may of course be other factors though. maybe one sex leans more towards a certain colouration than the other sex?

x

ps - these two mantids were unrelated. also, the change in colouration ive observed is always quite gradual, over a number of successive moults as opposed to one instar to the next (unless it is from subadult to adult, in which case the change can be more drastic).